Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of poultry feeding stations. More particularly, the invention relates to chick-safety deflector devices in such feeding stations.
Discussion of the Prior Art
Feeding stations for poultry chicks are known in the industry. These feeding stations have a long trough and a conveyor that extends along the trough, carrying feed. It can happen, that chicks, also called fledglings, get into the trough and are then carried by the conveyor apparatus the length of the trough, i.e., they “ride along” on the conveyor. This is a problem, because the chicks or fledglings can get injured on the conveyor, for example, they can get injured on the separator panels that extend into the trough, or at the end of the trough, or get caught and injured on other installations that exist in the trough. For this reason, conventional feeding stations have so-called deflectors. These may be, for example, a type of tongue that extends diagonally from down near the flights on the conveyor upwardly in the direction of travel of the conveyor. The fledglings riding on the conveyor get pushed up against the deflector and are then automatically lifted up high enough, so that they can then leave the trough on their own.
The geometry of the conveyor flights determines how deep a deflector can extend into the trough. Obviously, the deflectors cannot collide with the flights. Also, a certain minimum height of the flights is needed to provide a conveyor that effectively transports the feed. But the greater the height of the flights, the greater the gap between the bottom of the trough and the lower end of the deflector, and when the gap exceeds a certain height, it can't be ruled out, that despite the deflectors, chicks can get hung up in this gap and be unable to free themselves from the trough.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved poultry chick feeding station, such, that the station provides the greatest possible safety for the chicks, as well as the greatest possible access to the feed. What is further needed, is such a chick feeding station that has a high-performance conveyor.